


School Daze

by lalablue0



Series: 413am [8]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Baby Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, Gen, Smol Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:35:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28376304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalablue0/pseuds/lalablue0
Summary: Jason is ready to begin school.Bruce... is not.
Series: 413am [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017310
Comments: 7
Kudos: 82





	School Daze

**Author's Note:**

> This turned out way more angsty than I had anticipated. I hope you like it.

Damian and Jason sat at the dining room table and whispered in hushed tones. When Bruce walked in they went silent and sat up straight. 

Bruce sat down and unfolded the newspaper to the financial section. Though his face was hidden by the pages he did not fail to notice the boys resuming their heated whispers. Or the kick Damian gave to Jason under the table. 

“ _Ask_ ,” Damian said in an exasperated tone. 

“Daddy?” 

“Yeah, chum?” Bruce said from behind the paper. 

“I know what I want for Christmas this year.”

He sensed Jason fidgeting in his seat. The only time he was truly still was in sleep. Even then, he was a restless sleeper. Bruce folded the paper neatly in front of him and gave Jason his full attention. Jason curled all his limbs to himself and shrank into his seat. 

“I’m ready to go to school now,” Jason said quickly and seemed to shrink further into his seat. 

Bruce blinked hard and breathed heavily through his nose. He knew this was coming. His therapy sessions were going well. Dr. Green had scaled back his sessions from twice a week to once every other week. Jason hadn’t had a nightmare or wet the bed in almost a month. Jason had been able to home with just Alfred while Bruce clocked a few hours at work. 

Jason was ready to go to school. Bruce… was not. 

Bruce would tell you that this was because he still feared for Jason’s safety. Bruce would also say that starting now, in the middle of the school year, would put Jason at a disadvantage. Bruce would also inform you that Jason would not miss much if he just skipped kindergarten altogether. 

Bruce could make all those arguments and be the final say whether or not Jason would begin school. Bruce could even argue that maybe it would be best to get him a tutor and homeschool Jason. Bruce could even make the argument that Jason was a genius and he didn’t even need to go to school. 

But, Bruce looked at the little boy in front of him. Eager eyes full of hope stared back at him. Jason’s chin rested on his bent knees and he hugged his shins. He was gnawing on his lower lip and for a moment Bruce thought he might draw blood he was so aggressive. Jason loved school. In any life, he loved to learn. 

How could he deny him that? What father would deny their child a chance for betterment? Certainly not him. 

Except that’s not what he said. A firm, “No,” passed his lips and he watched his little boy’s world shatter. Jason ran from the room crying. 

He did not fail to see the look on Damian’s face as he went to follow Jason. The look of utter disappointment was not a new one to Bruce; this was more of a ‘I’m ashamed to be your son right now’ look. Frankly, he couldn’t blame him. 

He knew. He knew he should allow Jason to go to school. His arguments were weak tea at best. But he wasn’t ready yet. It was purely selfish. Dr. Green had told him that it was okay to have and set boundaries. He wasn’t ready for Jason to go to school, even if Jason was. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to his baby. Even if it was only a few hours a day. He wasn’t ready to have Jason go out into the world and make friends and learn and grow and- 

“I messed up again, didn’t I?” Bruce said aloud. 

“I had thought I had taught you better.” Alfred said as he entered the dining room. 

“I’m not ready, Alfred,” Bruce started, “just the _thought_ of him going to school. I’m not ready.”

Alfred placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and replied, “It doesn’t matter if you’re ready, sir. You are only keeping him from moving forward. If you wait till you’re ready for him to try new things, he never will.”

Bruce felt Alfred’s warm hand leave his shoulder, but the weight of his words continued to roll around in his head. He knew he had to make it right with Jason. He knew that the only way that would happen would be if he allowed Jason to go to school. He looked up at the ceiling and let out a big sigh. 

Bruce paused at the top step of the landing. He could hear Damian offering Jason solace after Bruce’s denial. He heard Jason bemoan the lack of fairness in the situation. He closed his eyes and held his breath as he heard Jason utter quietly that he wished he never came back. 

Bruce quickly moved in front of the door and placed his hand on the knob. 

“Never say that. You don’t mean that,” Damian scolded. 

“Sometimes I do. Right now I do,” Jason’s cries intensified. 

Bruce opened the door to find Jason seated on Damian’s lap being rocked back and forth in a comforting manner. Damian looked at Bruce with tears in his own eyes. He crossed the short expanse between the door and the bed where his children were. He sat down next to them and pulled Jason from Damian’s grasp. 

Bruce could feel the boy shaking as the intense cries wracked his small body. Bruce held Jason close to him and smoothed his unruly curls. He found himself rocking Jason side to side and kissing the side of his face. 

“It’s okay, Jaylad. It’s okay. I have you,” Bruce repeated till Jason calmed to little more than hiccups. 

Bruce could feel the wetness of Jason’s tears linger on his silk shirt. He felt Jason’s grip tighten and loosen with the rhythmic swaying motion Bruce perpetuated. He felt Jason’s breath even out against his neck. He shifted Jason in his lap and looked at his pitiful state. Jason’s face was red and puffy; his eyes swollen from tears. 

“I’m sorry I’m not ready for you to return to school,” Bruce started. When Jason’s lower lip began to tremble, he quickly added, “but you are. And I am so proud of the progress you made.”

“Does that mean I can go to school?” Jason asked meekly. 

Every worst case scenario ran through his head at lightning speed. He couldn’t treat Jason like he was made of glass. He couldn’t hide him away and expect that he would grow up well adjusted. He couldn’t stop him from taking the next step in his evolution. 

Bruce sighed deeply and nodded. 

Jason’s face lit up with the biggest smile as he threw his arms around Bruce’s neck. 

“Thank you, Daddy. Thank you,” Jason beamed. He twisted in Bruce’s lap and reached for Damian. “I get to go to school,” Jason said happily as though Damian hadn’t been there the whole time. 

Damian pulled Jason over to his lap and wiped a few stray tears that stained his cheeks and kissed his forehead. “I am very happy for you, ahki. Father made the appropriate decision.”

“We will register you tomorrow before Christmas break, but you won’t be able to start till after New Years. Okay?” Bruce said.

“‘Kay.”

Bruce stood and patted down Jason’s hair. He bent down and kissed both his sons' foreheads before leaving them to chatter about the new experiences Jason was going to have at school. Bruce walked across the hall to his bedroom and shut the door. His breath came out in ragged pants and he tried to will his hands to stop shaking. He slid down to the floor and punched himself in the thigh three times in an effort to get his mind to think of something else.

He wondered how he was going to be on Jason’s first day of school, if he was having a panic attack just from just the idea of him going to school. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He scrolled through his contact list until he found the number he needed. 

He gripped the phone tightly as it rang. 

_ “This is Dr. Green.” _

Bruce let out a shaky breath. “Hey, Doc. It’s Bruce Wayne. I was wondering if you had a few minutes to talk?”


End file.
